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France: Cleaning up the political mess after the earthquake

mercredi, juin 11th, 2014

On Monday 26th May, France woke up shocked after the political earthquake it experienced with the result of the European Parliament elections. The French left, the Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS) reached a poor 14% of the votes, while the right (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, UMP) scored 21%; the most striking performance however was the 25% score of the ever stronger far-right party, the Front National, (FN). The result had been forecasted in polls during the months preceding the vote. Contrary to the presidential elections of 2002, when Jean-Marie Le Pen made it to the second round against Jacques Chirac, the rise of the FN was not a big surprise, but still a shocking development. After a little more than a week, the blast of the election results has faded and the press moves on to make its headlines on political scandals concerning the UMP. It seems that there is a lot to do to clean up this electoral and political mess ? but what and whose mess is this?

Read more below in this article by Pauline Lucas, European Public Affairs:
http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/france-cleaning-up-the-political-mess-after-the-earthquake/#more-3100

Tags:European Elections, Eurosceptics, French politics
Posted in Welcome | No Comments »

Blair & Merkel leave Cameron in a perilous position?

lundi, juin 2nd, 2014

Benedict Brogan writing today (click on the link below) in his political blog (The Telegraph on-line, 2nd June, 2014) thinks interventions by Tony Blair and Angela Merkel leave PM David Cameron in a perilous position on Europe.

According to Mr Brogan

« Downing Street has denied German claims that David Cameron said Britain would leave the EU if Jean-Claude Juncker is chosen as president, but that hasn’t stopped them being widely reported. »
« Accompanying the headlines is a sense that Mr Cameron has gone public too early on Britain’s opposition to the Luxembourg federalist. »

[particularly as it is also reported today that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is already working to gather support for the candidacy of Mr Junker.]

In addition, Tony Blair has entered the debate with a speech to the CBI this morning in which he will try to put himself as the head of the « Save Europe » movement. According to Mr Blair:

« It has to be a debate elevated to a Europe-wide level, with Britain playing a leading role, not just a negotiation of Britain’s terms of membership. It has to be about what is good for Europe as well as what is good for Britain. »

Benedict Brogan thinks that all this makes the Prime Minister

« vulnerable to the charge that his position on Europe is not a big strategic argument based on principles, but a series of carefully judged tactical gambits designed to keep one step ahead of Nigel Farage [of UKIP] and numbers of his backbenchers. »

Mr Cameron has chosen to make his stand against Mr Junker, and perhaps has been misquoted in suggesting this as a break point for future UK membership of the EU, but will need the support of Germany to succeed. Without the support of Mrs Merkel he seems to have put himself into a perilous position.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/benedictbrogan/100274299/blair-and-merkel-leave-cameron-in-a-perilous-position/

Tags:Conservative Party, EU Referendum, Eurosceptics, UKIP
Posted in Referendum on EU Membership, Tories & Europe, Welcome, What about UKIP | No Comments »

A Splendid Mess of a Union!

samedi, mai 10th, 2014

At last a positive and emotional view of the Union with Scotland by historian Simon Schama, writing in The Financial Times of 9th May, 2014.

« A splendid mess of a union should not be torn asunder.
Scotland?s exit from Britain?s multicultural unity would be a disaster. »

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/085b4586-d5fc-11e3-a239-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz31IfNXNr8

Tags:Scottish Independence, SNP, UKIP
Posted in Menzies Campbell: No to Independence, Mess of Union!, Scottish Independence, Scottish Referendum, Welcome | No Comments »

Nigel Farage is just Russell Brand for old people?

mercredi, avril 30th, 2014

Here’s a challenging article on UKIP leader Nigel Farage from Alex Massie writing in The Spectator blog:

« Nigel Farage is a phoney. There is a simple solution to everything that ails the United Kingdom: leave the European Union and, to all intents and purposes, close our borders. Then we shall enjoy a new Golden Age.

It is an illusion wrapped in a lie inside a fraud. No such solution presents itself. In the unlikely event Mr Farage got his way almost every problem this country faces would remain intact ? and remain as impervious to simple solution. »

« Instead of smearing themselves with tar and feathers, mainstream politicians should remind populists that they do the hard work of politics: representing constituents, reconciling competing claims and taking an interest in dry corners of legislation that affect people?s lives. Most politics is necessary drudgery. Seen from this angle, the ?elite? are the people who get their hands dirty. And populists who damn the whole spectacle from cosy sidelines are the truly decadent ones. »

Tags:Eurosceptics, Nigel Farage, Russell Brand, UKIP
Posted in Farage to Join Conservatives?, Nigel Farage is just Russell Brand, Welcome, What about UKIP, What to do about UKIP? | No Comments »

I will vote no to independence because I love Scotland

mardi, avril 8th, 2014

Writing in The Guardian below on Monday 7th April, 2014 former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell thinks that:

« Those who argue against independence have a duty to recognise that most Scots want their parliament to have more powers. »

« ……..the majority of Scots still prefer a solution that allows Scotland to remain in the UK but for its parliament to have greater powers, most particularly economic. The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats publicly acknowledge this reality. They differ in nuance and detail, but not in principle. »

« The promises of the SNP are incapable of achievement, but it chooses to challenge the good faith of the three parties in their undertakings to embrace that principle. Its challenge would be effectively blunted if the three parties could agree on the process of implementation of that principle. »

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/07/independence-scotland-scots-powers-parliament-menzies-campbell?CMP=twt_gu

Tags:British politics, Scottish Independence
Posted in Menzies Campbell: No to Independence, Scottish Independence, Scottish Referendum, Welcome | No Comments »

Lord Ashcroft Polls on Milliband’s EU Referendum Non-Pledge

vendredi, mars 21st, 2014

Lord Ashcroft thinks (see link to his article below) that the Conservative party should not be misled by Labour leader Ed. Milliband’s recent non-pledge on an EU referendum, when his polling has found that:

« Tory voters are twice as likely as Labour voters, and UKIP voters three times as likely, to say that defending Britain?s interests in Europe is one of the most important issues facing the country. »

« By putting the referendum pledge at the front and centre of its 2015 campaign the Conservative Party would not only be missing the chance to talk about the things most voters care about more, like the economy, jobs and public services. It would also, as far as these voters are concerned, be proving again the out-of-touchness (outness of touch?) of which it has for so long been accused. That is the trap Ed Miliband has set for the Tories. Surely they won?t be so daft as to fall into it? »

http://lordashcroftpolls.com/2014/03/milibands-referendum-non-pledge-will-win-votes-labour-conservatives-let/#more-2686

Tags:2015 Election, Conservative Party, EU Referendum
Posted in Merkel EU Lobby for UK, Merkel in London, Millibands Non-Referendum Pledge, Referendum on EU Membership, The Wrong Battle, To Be or Not in EU, Tories & Europe, Welcome | No Comments »

Merkel in London ? A Lesson in Eurorealism

lundi, mars 17th, 2014

This challenging article by Thomas Fillis of European Public Affairs concludes, following the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to London, that the gap between what Tory backbenchers are demanding, and what David Cameron can deliver in Europe is still unbridgeable.

http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/merkel-in-london-a-lesson-in-eurorealism/#comments

« Merkel?s visit has reminded us that Eurorealism is how to engage with Brussels. »

That is, the only way to change the European Union is from within.

What do the members and friends of British Conservatives in Paris think?

Tags:Conservative Party, EU Referendum, Eurosceptics
Posted in Merkel EU Lobby for UK, Merkel in London, Referendum on EU Membership, The Wrong Battle, To Be or Not in EU, Welcome | No Comments »

British Citizens Abroad – Register to Vote!

vendredi, mars 14th, 2014

Here is an important message for all British citizens resident abroad and not impacted by the 15-year-limit on their voting rights, from Greg Clark, Minister of State for Cities and the Constitution:

This is important for both the European elections in 2014 (if you have not already registered where you are resident) and the next general election in 2015.

Tags:2015 Election, British Overseas voters, Conservative Party, European Elections, Voting registration
Posted in Register to Vote!, Registering to Vote, Voting rights, Welcome, Winning in 2015 | No Comments »

Marginal Constituencies Win Elections

lundi, février 24th, 2014

Have a browse of the interactive BBC News link below.

It lists the marginal seats which could decide the next UK General Election in May 2015.

« government majorities are made or broken in the relatively small number of marginal seats with small majorities that change hands at elections ».

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25726270

Tags:2015 Election, Ajouter un mot-clef, Conservative Party, Marginal Constituencies
Posted in Boris Backs Living Wage, Cameron's EU Negotiation, Economic Policy for Many, Marginal Constituencies, Welcome, Winning in 2015 | No Comments »

How to Register to Vote in UK Elections

vendredi, janvier 10th, 2014

As we continue our struggle for unrestricted voting rights for all British expats, it is very important to get all those who are not affected by the arbitrary cut-off rule (currently 15 years), to register. If you have not lived outside the UK for 15 years or more we would urge you, and any of your colleagues and friends who are similarly qualified, to register!

Since British expats living in EU Member States may choose to vote in the European Parliament elections in the UK, instead of in their country of residence, it is worth registering as soon as possible, and at any rate before the European Parliament election registration deadline of 7th May 2014.

This is what you should do. You will need the postcode of your last address in the UK, and your current passport number and its place and date of issue.

Go to the Electoral Commission website www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and enter the postcode of your last address in the UK at which you were previously registered to vote. Click on GO in the green bar.

The next screen enables you to download the form, and tells you where to send it once you have printed it out, and completed and signed it.

If this is the first time that you have registered as an overseas (as opposed to UK-based) voter, you will need another British citizen to countersign the form as witness. The countersignatory must also provide his/her passport number and place and date of issue.

The form also enables you to register for a postal vote, or a proxy vote. We can provide help in both those areas, and with any queries connected with the registration process in general.

We hope this has been useful to you, and that you will take the important step of registering as soon as possible! Do feel free to forward this web page link to others who might be able to take advantage of it.

Posted in Expat Representation in EU, Expat Voter Registration., Registering to Vote, Voting rights, Welcome | No Comments »

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